Russia Gets Two Engines In New Forester; What Is Subaru Thinking?

The all-new 2019 Subaru Forester is the brand’s number-one selling vehicle around the globe and launches in Japan, the U.S., and Australia with just one gasoline engine, the new direct injection 2.5-liter Boxer. The new fifth-generation Forester SUV has been announced in Russia and it’s coming with two engines. In addition to the newly-revamped 2.5-liter gasoline boxer, Russian customers also get a 2.0-liter Boxer engine in the newly-remodeled Forester SUV.

Performance fans don’t have to be upset, this isn’t a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine sourced from the Forester 2.0XT model that’s been discounted. It’s the same 2.0-liter naturally aspirated power plant in the Crosstrek with 152hp. This engine has also received the newest engine upgrades with direct injection, and 80 percent of its parts are new.

Offering the 2.0L Forester doesn't make sense

Subaru Russia released fuel mileage estimates for the 2.0L and 2.5L engines. Fuel economy (mixed cycle) is 7.2 l/100km for the 2.0L and 7.4 l/100 km for the 2.5L Boxer. In the U.S., the lighter Crosstrek with the 2.0L gets 27/33/29 city/highway/combined mpg, the new 2019 Forester 2.5-liter with 182hp gets an improved 26/33 city/highway mpg, and 29 combined mpg. We can’t imagine why customers would opt for the smaller engine with considerably less power and similar fuel-efficiency.

Both Russian 2.5-liter and 2.0-liter Boxer models will be mated with the Lineartronic CVT automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels. Subaru discontinued the 6-speed manual gearbox in all global markets.
Subaru Corp gave the CVT a complete overhaul by expanding the gear ratio range and reducing the overall weight to improve dynamics and reduce fuel consumption.

Russian customers can order the all-new 2019 Subaru Forester with the new 2.5-liter with direct injection and 2.0-liter Boxer engines. It doesn’t make sense for Subaru Corp to offer the all-new 2019 Forester SUV in Russia with the 2.0-liter gasoline engine. Why would anyone buy the new Forester with the naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter engine?

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Comments

Whats going on with Subaru ? They were performance cars , fun and funky , thats what made them different , now I can rather buy any other normal car , PLEASE SUBARU , PLEASE keep you identity and performance ???? PLEASE ???

Andre' - Sorry, not in the cards. I totally agree with you. However, Subaru's sights are squarely set on the masses. Gone are the days of fun, funky and performance. The one size engine fits all approach stinks, but we can see the writing on the wall. I really hope they at least offer the new turbo engine used in the Ascent for the 2020 Outback and Legacy, but I won't hold my breathe.

The 'optional engine' in the new Subaru has been found!
Seems like they have gotten pretty good at shooting themsleves in the foot these days. Only reason might be cost, but hard to imagine this would save anything significant. Hey, at least we know now that the 2.0L fits (as Subaru would have given us some ridiculous story about how the new engine bay was only 'optimized' for the 2.5L mill only), and now we just need to add back the turbocharger to get the car they should have built in the first place.

They only sell the 2L Forester in Japan and most Asian countries, higher capacity cars have higher taxes. The 2.5L was only created when it became very popular in the US. Also other car makers do this like how VW sells big engined cars only in the US whereas the rest of the world gets turbo low capacity engines. They do this because fuel is very cheap in the US and people look down on small capacity engines there.